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A couple of years ago, I posted some pictures of my 1:8 scale model Figoni & Falaschi's 1932 RR Phantom II. Since then I've been working on a completely
scratch built
1:8 model of a 1935 Austin Seven Ruby Mk1.
Originally introduced in 1922, the Austin Seven was designed to bring motoring to the masses and, in 1935, when a completed RR Phantom sold for 2,500 - 3,000 UK Pounds, the Austin Seven sold for 125 UK Pounds.
The model is a detailed replica and incorporates as many details as possible of the original Ruby Mk1, including working windows, steering, sunroof (yes, sunroof!!), and lights. Although it's a relatively simple car, it's a neat contrast to the RR and was a great way to experiment with custom made 3D printed parts, the construction of wire wheels and the molding of historically accurate rubber tires.
Anyways, the model is now finished so I thought you might enjoy some pictures.

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"Which parts are 3D printed?" The short answer is "most of them".
The window winding mechanisms and window channels were all fabricated from brass, as were the springs and shock absorbers. But the main body parts, including fenders, running boards and radiator cowling were all 3D printed, primarily in SLS nylon.
On the chassis, the rails were printed in
acrylic
, but reinforced with brass channel. Cross members were fabricated in brass. The tiny (~ 1/8 in square) front axle was 3D printed in brass, but had to be made in two parts that were then pinned and soldered together. The cylinder block, sump, cylinder head and gearbox were printed in nylon, but all the very small parts such as the petrol pump and carburetor were printed in
acrylic
.
There's more detail, as well as a comparison of nylon vs.
acrylic
, on my website at http://www.jrhscalecars.com.

Thanks.
It was a touch of whimsy!
But, if you were able to look close enough you'd see it was the right disc for 1935 and would have the registration SVN 35 on it (which is fake, of course, but consistent with registration numbers in 1935!)

Well, that's a good explanation! Although I don't intend to use 3D printing, how do you proceed? Scanning a real car/part or based on drawings? I'm totally ignorant how people are getting the data which can be handled by the printer.
If you can explain it, I will be less dumb when I'm geting to bed tonight...
The door's windows from the Ausin are operable; as the space is rather limited, how are you transmitting the handle movement to the window lift, with gears or with a string? Fortunately in my case the space is more generous, I can install electric motors!

First off, let me deal with the windows. The window winder handle operates through a gear, gear quadrant and a scissor mechanism. This was the method used on the prototypes, but it also has the virtue of being a slim design.
Here are two renderings of the mechanism:
The gears are nylon, but the rest of the mechanism is brass.
I was fortunate to have some (now discontinued) 3/32" x 3/32" C channel from
K&amp;S
. It's an ideal size for guiding
acrylic
sheet and it made an excellent bottom rail onto which attach the scissor mechanism.

The drawings above were generated by CAD software.
As you no doubt know, 3D printers generally get their instructions from a CAD generated file that describes the solid that you wish to print. Typically, this is a .STL file. So everything begins with the CAD software. There are free packages available through the Internet, but most are pretty limited. And software that just lets you draw surfaces won't work either, you have to be able to produce solids. I wanted a package that would let me draw complex curved solids such as fenders, so opted to purchase Rhino 5.0. It's very expensive, but I've been extremely pleased with its capabilities. The learning curve is fairly steep although there are free tutorials that cover most of what you'll need.
I'm a learn as you go guy, so I got halfway through the tutorials and then jumped in and started drawing some simple parts I needed, going back to the tutorials whenever I got stuck. It took about three months of playing around before I got really comfortable. Some of the parts could have easily been fabricated in
styrene
or brass, but I wanted to experiment with 3D printing, so stuck with it.
All my drawings are created from scratch using whatever sources I can find. It is possible to get parts scanned, but every time I've looked at that option it's turned out to be expensive (> $100). It's quicker and less expensive to draw from scratch. For the Austin Seven, the only drawing I could find was a layout of the chassis rails. However, other dimensions (wheelbase, front & rear track, etc) were available from old road reports and enthusiasts sites. So between those, lots of photographs and as many technical articles as I could find, it was possible to fill in the rest. Of course, all this was complicated by the numerous variations of the Austin Seven built between the first model in 1992 and the end of production in 1939. Nevertheless, one of the beauties of CAD is that it drives dimensional integrity. In other words, the parts have to fit!
In the meantime I looked at whether or not to buy a printer and, in the end opted for outsourcing the 3D printed parts. There were several reasons for that decision. First, I had no idea how to go about selecting a printer and the number of printers to choose from was expanding rapidly. Secondly, printers aren't cheap and I'd already blown the budget with the CAD software. Thirdly, I had limited experience with the various materials available. We're all familiar with
styrene
, but I had no experience with SLS (selective laser sintered) nylon which is one of the least expensive materials available. In the end I chose to go to Shapeways who make the purchasing process very easy. You create an account, upload an STL file, then wait for their site to analyze the design and show you how much the part will cost depending on the material you choose. There are design rules that apply (such as minimum wall thickness), but these are explained in detail in their material section. Assuming the design is acceptable, you pick a material and the quantity you want printed and add them to your shopping cart. Turnaround time is typically about a week.
There were more than a few false starts and disappointments but I've been very pleased with the outcome. The options to riff on a standard kit, or to build from scratch are pretty much endless and I'm no longer restricted to what's available from kit, transkit or parts manufacturers.
Sorry for the long answer, but I hope it helps.

Many thanks for the explanation! I now understant a little bit more what is involved. Thanks also for the clear explanation about the window mechanism. It's quite simple; I'm wondering if I can adapt "your" scissor to my own door windows; in my mind I had something more complex. The answer will come in the next few months.
The drawings you published are quite clear; I'm still dealing with paper and pencil! Anyway, as the Mark II will most probably be my last model, I just can dream about the new technologies.

I work almost daily with rapid prototyped components at my day job, and yet I still prefer to mess about with paper and pencil. I have been trying for several years to draft plans of several models, and not having any dimensions, I have been using tons of photographs, and going back and forth with various angles on the same part, adjusting my lines, making constant use of several proportional dividers, and enjoying the chase, (but not always.) -sometimes I just want to make a pattern and go out and build!

The engineers/friends at work use CATIA and used to push me to try to learn it, but not actually having metrics to work to? -I have thought that my method was just as well, since I am verifying fit as I go along.

Your explanation of your process is very enlightening. Particularly "CAD drives dimensional integrity." -as I fuss about, I can make anything fit, including two parts that share the wrong dimensions!

If you have a dimension, one dimension, I suppose you can from that create a grid. Finding another dimension or two, progress might not be much faster, but it would be "driven" toward a uniform integral whole!

Do you still recommend RHINO?

Money is sort of tight, but I could budget and save for it, when I see it's value.

Thank you for sharing!

-Don

-craftsmanship is a lifelong project of
self-construction and self determination